Palestinian president raises flag of the state of Palestine at the UN for the first time

The State of Palestine's flag flies in the wind after a Rose Garden ceremony at the United Nations headquarters Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
(The Associated Press)

The State of Palestine's flag flies in the wind after a Rose Garden ceremony at the United Nations headquarters on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
(The Associated Press)

Mahmoud Abbas, left, president of the State of Palestine, walks with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a ceremony to raise the State of Palestine flag for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015, at the U.N. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
(The Associated Press)

UNITED NATIONS – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raised the flag of the state of Palestine at the United Nations for the first time on Wednesday with a promise that it will be raised soon in Jerusalem, "the capital of our Palestinian state."

More than 300 ministers, diplomats and well-wishers who crowded into the rose garden at U.N. headquarters where a temporary flagpole had been erected for the ceremony applauded his words.

Abbas told the crowd it was a "historical moment" on the Palestinian road to independence.

As the black, white, green and red flag went up the flagpole, cheers and shouts of "Peace! Peace! Palestine!" erupted.

The Palestinians campaigned for a General Assembly resolution that was overwhelmingly approved on Sept. 10 allowing U.N. observer states to fly their flags alongside those of the 193 U.N. member states. The Holy See and Palestine and are the only two U.N. observer states.

In contrast to the Palestinians, the Holy See flag was raised outside U.N. headquarters alongside flags of the 193 U.N. member states without fanfare or ceremony just before Pope Francis arrived last Friday to address the General Assembly. The permanent flagpole for the Palestinian flag is already in place beside it.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Wednesday a day of "pride" and "hope" for Palestinians around the world.

He urged the Palestinians to pursue their long-held dream for their own state by first uniting Gaza and the West Bank, and he urged Israel and the Palestinians to revive negotiations that collapsed last year and conclude "a successful peace process."

That will lead to the unfurling of the Palestinian flag "in its proper place — among the family of nations as a sovereign member state of the United Nations," Ban said.